


The Importance of David Bowie

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: David Bowie - Freeform, David Bowie Tribute, Gen, References to David Bowie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 12:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9270707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry ;)





	

January 10, 2016. 

Yesterday. It was a day you would never forget. 

It was the day your idol and inspiration was taken from the world too young. At just 69 years old, David Bowie died of cancer after an 18-month-long battle. People just didn’t understand; they’d say to you, “He was just a celebrity” or “But you didn’t even know him” or “You’re totally overreacting.” When you found out he died just a day earlier, you were with your parents and had burst into tears. You tried explaining, but they didn’t get it and didn’t seem to want to. Neither did your friends outside of work.

Some people went along their daily lives feeling like the belonged, so they enjoyed celebrities for what they did - singing, acting, dancing, whatever it may have been. For you however, and so many others, celebrities became an extension of yourselves - an inspiration in your case.

In a world where bisexuality was erased by some heterosexuals and homosexuals alike, David Bowie’s very existence made you feel better. As a terrified kid in high school, during which time you’d been bullied, called a slut for sleeping “with anything with two legs,” and beat up for being a member of the LGBT+ community, Bowie was a giant middle-finger to the haters, so losing him was like losing a piece of yourself.

You wiped the tears from underneath your eyes, attempting to get rid of any evidence of sadness before you left for work. The last thing you wanted to do was explain to another group of people that didn’t understand why you felt you had lost a piece of yourself.

“Cry when you get home,” you said to yourself, satisfied that you had fixed your makeup and didn’t look like you had been crying. Once the work day was over, you could come home, down a pint of ice cream and listen to Rebel Rebel on repeat.

————–

Unfortunately, your makeup fix hadn’t helped, because you’d made the mistake of listening to Modern Love on the way to work and had started crying all over again.

“Fuck,” you said exasperatedly, as you parked the car and attempted to fix your makeup again.

All of a sudden, you heard a knock on your car window. You turned around quickly; it was Emily. Goddammit.

“Hey, Em,” you said, putting your eyeliner back in your bag, “How’re you this morning?” You did your best to sound as perky as possible, but apparently it didn’t work.

“Better than you apparently,” she said concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” you replied honestly, “You won’t get it. Don’t worry.”

She put her arm around your shoulder, pulling you in. As the older of the two of you, she had always felt like a big sister. “But I do worry,” she said, giving you a squeeze, “And try me. I probably understand more than you think.”

“David Bowie died yesterday,” you whispered, tears already forming in your eyes.

“He was important to you, wasn’t he?”

Shaking your head, you allowed a tear to fall, but did your best to keep the rest at bay. “Yea, he made me feel okay about myself at a time when nothing made me feel okay, so I lost a piece of myself, I guess,” you said, wondering if that sounded melodramatic. Emily, along with the rest of the team knew that you were bisexual, so she just nodded her head in agreement.

“I get it, Y/N. He did that for a lot of people,” she said, walking into the elevator. “The sting will probably linger for a while, but eventually you’ll be able to see that just because he’s gone doesn’t mean that he still can’t be those things for you.”

As the elevator doors opened to the bullpen, you wiped the tears from your eyes, but when you looked up, Spencer, Derek, JJ and Penelope were all standing right there with cups of coffee, as well as one for you. “What’s wrong, Y/N?” JJ asked worriedly upon seeing your tear-stained face.

“It’s David Bowie, isn’t it?” Penelope asked. You knew if anyone on the team understood it was going to be her. Shaking your head, you buried it into her shoulder.

“You too?” you asked.

Wrapping her arms around your neck, giving you a squeeze as she spoke to the rest of the group. “His music was there for me when I had just lost my parents, so the fact that he’s gone is depressing to me. But it’s different for you, right?”

“Yea,” you cried, the tears falling freely as you pulled a tissue from your bag. “I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous.” Everyone shook their heads as Penelope took the tissue, blotting your tears away. “For me, seeing him as Ziggy Stardust, the bisexual alien alter ego, was comforting. It made me feel like I wasn’t a freak for being different. He was comfortable with who he was. He was androgynous and felt that all sexualities should be celebrated; it was at a time when most people didn’t think that way. His ability to reinvent himself was just something that really resonated with me.”

“It’s totally understandable, Y/N,” Spencer said, pulling you in for a hug; he gave great hugs. “Multiple studies have found that people gravitate toward others like them,” he started, immediately comforting you with facts. “Seeing people like you in the media makes people feel validated, so it’ll be the same for me when Stephen Hawking dies.”

“Exactly,” you said, taking your head of his chest and wiping your eyes for the third time that morning. “Well, thanks for letting me ramble and not thinking I’m a melodramatic freak.”

“No problem, babygirl,” Derek said, taking your coffee cup to fill it up again. “You’re not a freak.”

You knew there were many reasons you loved this team - and now you could add this to the list. “Y/N?” Penelope asked, as everyone else started to make their way to their desks. “You wanna get together after work and eat ice cream and listen to Rebel Rebel on repeat for a few hours?”

“That’s exactly what I was going to do later,” you laughed. “Absolutely. I may cry more. Just warning you.”


End file.
